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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22835659">Ribbon</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/monyaka/pseuds/monyaka'>monyaka</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Femslash February 2020 [20]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Hello Charlotte (Video Games)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>AU Fic, F/F, Femslash February 2020, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Oracle Charles, Spoilers</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-02-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-02-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-04-28 14:22:48</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>885</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22835659</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/monyaka/pseuds/monyaka</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Day 21 of 29 : Ribbon</p><p>Though Scarlett was never supposed to remember who she was after her reincarnation, it seems that little things have begun to reawaken her true self. And she will not let herself lose again.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Scarlett Eyler/Anri Warhol</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Femslash February 2020 [20]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1619584</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Ribbon</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>inspired partially by unused hc2 sprites, like this one : https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/hellocharlotte/images/9/92/Charlotte3-3.png/revision/latest?cb=20170419003704<br/>i know this is pretty charles-centric, but i actually do ship scarlett and anri, i think they'd bond a lot over, you know... wanting charles to be better and using Very Specific Techniques to make that happen. hc2 anri and true realm scarlett especially would get along mega well. also can we talk abt how scarlett specifically rushes in to save anri in hc3 bc</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>When Charlotte met Anri for the first time, she couldn’t help but feel there was something familiar about her. There’s something that burns at the deepest points of her soul when she looks at her, when she takes a moment to actually look into her eyes. (She tends not to do that, but she can’t remember why. Surely, it’s best to look others in the eye when speaking.)</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She talks to Seth, and Seth talks back. For a moment, she really does believe in Puppeteers and Aliens and Magcats. And then Scarlett Eyler falls from the roof and everything changes. Something snaps.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Suddenly, she feels that familiar tug to Anri, that feeling that clings to her psyche.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Oracle is waking, and with it comes Scarlett Eyler.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>An imaginary boy with raven hair and golden eyes crosses his legs and smiles. All white turtlenecks and monochromatic failure, and he infuriates her every night. The Oracle has taken his form, though she cannot remember who he is, nor why he’s so important that he should manifest in her mind this way. </span>
  <b>He’s not important enough to be a dying god.</b>
  
</p><p>
  <b>Really, if anyone should be God, it should be </b>
  <b>
    <em>her.</em>
  </b>
</p><p>
  <span>Seth has gone quiet. It’s better that way, anyhow. She doesn’t need someone to tell her to wake up and go to School. </span>
  <b>It is simply what one does.</b>
  <span> What the successful do, anyway. Not that ☐☐☐☐☐☐☐ is successful in the slightest. What a bother to be tethered to him. The only good thing that’s ever come out of his life is—</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Charlie!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She used to call </span>
  <em>
    <span>him</span>
  </em>
  <span> that, didn’t she? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>☐☐☐☐☐☐☐’s lips curl into a smile, a black-gloved hand resting on his lips. As if he’s laughing at a private joke. As if he’s laughing at her expense. </span>
</p><p>
  <b>If she could, she would punish him.</b>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Don’t think I don’t remember how your heart would skip a beat when you saw her,</span>
  </em>
  <span> purrs the Oracle, his golden eyes seeming to shine even brighter. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Not that you have a heart, really, Miss Scarlett.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Charlotte,</span>
  </em>
  <span>” she corrects, even as it feels right.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Anri screws up her face. “Okay, </span>
  <em>
    <span>Charlotte.</span>
  </em>
  <span> You never used to snap at me like that.” And the crocodile tears come, and Charlotte’s heart twists with some level of compassion. Girls shouldn’t cry like that. Girls should have all they would like, for the world is too cruel to them. If the world weren’t cruel, </span>
  <em>
    <span>she</span>
  </em>
  <span> would have been born, and not him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>If the world weren’t cruel, it would have been </span>
  <em>
    <span>her</span>
  </em>
  <span> feeding Anri those desserts at that café he hated so much. </span>
</p><p>
  <b>
    <em>She</em>
  </b>
  <b> would never have let her down.</b>
</p><p>
  <span>☐☐☐☐☐☐☐ throws back his head and laughs. </span>
  <em>
    <span>How the tables have turned!</span>
  </em>
  <span> he crows. </span>
  <em>
    <span>That I’d be the parasite and you’d be the infected! Doesn’t it make your heart dance with despair? She’s going to reject you, you know. You</span>
  </em>
  <span> must </span>
  <em>
    <span>know this story won’t afford you a happy ending. Not after what you did.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“S-Sorry,” she stammers—why is she </span>
  <em>
    <span>stammering?</span>
  </em>
  <span>—and shoots Anri a nervous smile. “Really, I didn’t mean to say it like that.” Something’s wrong. Painfully wrong. She is acting unlike herself, but she isn’t sure who </span>
  <em>
    <span>herself</span>
  </em>
  <span> even is.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Oracle hums in amusement. </span>
  <em>
    <span>It’s almost </span>
  </em>
  <span>sad</span>
  <em>
    <span> to think you’ll never be the perfect protagonist you’ve always wanted to be.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>She spends her entire dreaming hours screaming and clutching her head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And when she wakes, she pulls her ribbon out from around her neck and does up her hair instead. Scarlotte glares into the mirror. Finally, she feels like herself again. She pops two fluanxol, smooths her skirts, and walks smartly to School.</span>
</p><p>
  <b>She can’t be a protagonist? We will see about that.</b>
</p><p>
  <span>Anri seems nervous now, nervous and flustered. </span>
  <b>Good. She should be.</b>
  <span> Scarlett flashes her a winning smile as she takes her seat. She should see about dying this wretched hair. ☐h☐rl☐☐ has always had poor taste in everything besides his lady friend. Anri is really, truly, the best thing to ever happen to him. And what does he do? Toss her aside. “Uh… did you do something to your hair, Charlotte?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I did,” she replies proudly. “Do you like it? I also convinced Felix to cook us up something special for lunch. You know how you’re always forgetting your wallet.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She flushes pink from the base of her neck up to the tips of her ears.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s okay, it’s okay. Since I brought enough for both of us, we can have a picnic on the roof.” ☐h☐☐le☐ is grinning ear-to-ear, but she doesn’t mind that. He’s nothing but a ghost, the pathetic shell of a god. “It’ll almost be romantic, don’t you think?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Anri takes a second to assess, to size up Charlotte: New and Improved. And then she smiles so saccharine and fake that Scarlett can’t help but marvel at how intelligent she must be, to be able to orchestrate such an act. “Of course, Lotte! I can’t believe you’d make a picnic… just for </span>
  <em>
    <span>me</span>
  </em>
  <span>…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She knows what Anri wants to hear, and she says it. “You are my best friend, aren’t you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And soon, they’ll be far, far more than that.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Scarlett remembers, after all. And Scarlett </span>
  <em>
    <span>will</span>
  </em>
  <span> take back the life that was meant to be hers all along.</span>
</p><p>
  <b>Hello, world! Goodbye, Charles.</b>
</p>
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